Residents in the Northern Irish town of Enniskillen are enjoying world leader-inspired ice cream created especially for the G8 summit. Tara Cleary reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: Nuts about Obama? Or do you prefer a White Russian? A store in Northern Ireland is making eight different ice creams in honor of the G8 summit being held nearby. Manager Una Lilley says some research went into choosing flavors. UNA LILLEY, CENTRA STORE MANAGER: "In Nuts about O'Bama we found out that he liked toasted nuts so he likes pecans, he likes almonds, so we have lured them through the gelato that we have created for him. When that information wasn't available we sort of picked things that were obvious to each country." REPORTER: Customer Genevieve Murphy's favorite is "Black Forest" representing Germany's Angela Merkel. GENEVIEVE MURPHY: "This is my second time getting the Black Forest with the cherries because they are so delicious." REPORTER: Flavors like tiramisu, macaroon and green tea have been enticing customers, but Lilley says she'd also like to see some of the ice creams' namesakes in the store. UNA LILLEY: "The ultimate goal would be to see any of the world leaders come through the door, so, I mean, our doors are open and they are all very welcome, we'll take them all." REPORTER: Now that's what you call a melt-in-your-mouth marketing move.
WORDPLAY 1. A scoop is: a) an exciting news story which is reported in one newspaper or on one television programme before it appears anywhere else. b) an object like a spoon which is used for picking up a quantity of a food such as ice cream. 2. If you are nuts about someone or something, you like them very much. Nuts are also small hard fruit with a very hard shell that grows on some trees.
How far does a typical pair of jeans travel before it ends up in your closet — and at what cost? Reuters tracks the garment supply chain, from factories in Bangladesh to retailers near you.
Google launches technology-laden helium balloons that aim to bring the Internet to remote parts of the world. Andrew Raven reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: Could helium-filled balloons bring high speed Internet to the most remote parts of the world? Google thinks one day, they might. The tech giant is launching balloons in New Zealand as part of a bold experiment. Powered by solar panels, and laden with computers, Google says the balloons can beam down wireless signals at 3G-like speeds. That could be a game-breaker in areas with little infrastructure, says Google. GOOGLE X CHIEF TECHNICAL ARCHITECT, RICHARD DeVAUL: "Sometimes if you want to make a huge big leap, you have to try something crazy." REPORTER: The balloons fly at twice the height of a commercial plane and one can provide web access to an area of over 1200 square kilometres. While they can stay aloft for about 100 days, they can't remain in the same place. So Google's plan is launch a host of balloons into the winds of the stratosphere, creating a network that provides constant coverage.
As security tightens in Northern Ireland ahead of Monday's G8 summit, Hayley Platt takes a look at the issues likely to be on the leaders' agenda.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: Security tightens in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland ahead of next weeks' G8 summit. The remote location was specifically chosen by the British government to deter potential trouble-makers. Twenty-six years ago it was the target of an IRA bomb attack which killed eleven people and injured dozens more. Police say they're not taking any chances. CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT PAULINE SHIELDS: "The threat across Northern Ireland is classified as severe and that's what it was prior to G8 and the arrival of G8 hasn't changed that." REPORTER: British Prime Minister David Cameron says the G8 is an opportunity for Northern Ireland to shine. DAVID CAMERON: "That summit is a great opportunity to show the world a Northern Ireland to the world that is open for business, for investment and for tourism." REPORTER: He's promised to put tax evasion and agressive avoidance at the heart of the meeting, estimated to cost governments around the world around $3 trillion dollars a year in lost revenue. It follows public outcry over revelations that companies like Starbucks have used clever tax planning and exploited loopholes to reduce their taxes. Simon Wagman is a partner at chartered accountants Blick Rothenberg. He says it's difficult to say whether the G8 summit will bring meaningful tax reform. SIMON WAGMAN: "Will the likes of Google and Amazon pay more tax in the UK? They may do, they may not do. But they certainly may pay more tax globally. And if it's into a US coffer, if it's into another EU jurisdiction, that's raising tax which can only be good. Obviously each government will have their own axe to grind as to whether it's coming to their coffers to spend on their own infrastructure and the costs that they need within their territory. So I'm sure there will be a lot of talk and I'm sure there will be things that come out of it because it's such a hot topic but realistically who knows what's going to happen?" REPORTER: It's an issue close to the heart of these protesters who chose to demonstrate against capitalism in London's Canary Wharf, home to banks such as Barclays and JP Morgan. They're accusing governments of failing to take action against large companies dodging their tax responsibilities, and say ordinary people are paying for the financial crisis. The two-day G8 summit of world leaders gets underway on Monday.
The world toe wrestling championships have contestants on their toes in rural Derbyshire in northern England. Elly Park reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: It's a competition requiring brute strength, concentration and balance. Once again wrestlers gathered in Derbyshire [pron: darby-sher] in northern England to go head to head … or rather toe to toe to win the top title at the world toe wrestling championships. And no smelly feet are allowed. After a hygiene check, competitors take part in best of three knockout duels until a winner is decided. Alan "Nasty" Nash is the undisputed favorite after winning the title nine times in the past. ALAN "NASTY" NASH: "Toe wrestling is a sport the British are fantastic at that nobody else can do. It's like arm-wrestling, but you just use your legs instead." REPORTER: Sounds simple ... but for most contestants surprisingly painful. In the end Nash reclaimed his crown for a tenth time, while in the women's draw Becca Beech won her title for the second consecutive year.
TOE IDIOMS 1. If you say that someone or something keeps you on your toes, you mean that they cause you to remain alert and ready for anything that might happen. 2. If you toe the line, you behave in the way that people in authority expect you. 3. If you tread (or step) on someone's toes, you offend them by criticizing the way that they do something or by interfering in their affairs. 4. If you dip your toes into something or dip your toes into the waters of something, you start doing that thing slowly and carefully, because you are not sure whether it will be successful or whether you will like it. 5. If something makes your toes curl, it makes you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. 6. A toe-to-toe argument, etc., is one in which two people or groups are directly opposed to each other.
A temporary thousand-seater drive-in cinema opens in the French capital. Sharon Reich reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: It's a long way from the old days, but Paris is bringing back the drive-in movie theater. Under the vaulted ceilings of the Grand Palais just off the Champs Elysees, film fans are settling in to enjoy a new kind of drive-in -- one where you don't actually have to drive in. A fleet of Fiat 500s is already there - and the cars have extra roomy interiors to give movie-goers more leg room than they might even have at a local ciniplex. CINEMA-GOER TIFFANY BOUTHRY: "We've all seen drive-ins in films, we've all dreamed about them and it's great to be able to experience that with friends in a nice atmosphere with champagne. We're privileged." CINEMA-GOER ULYSSE BRAVIT: "The cars are a bit new, there are lots of security personnel and so on but I think that with some good pictures and a bit of music we'll be dreaming a bit more." REPORTER: A thousand movie-lovers a day are expected to visit the exhibition hall. Organizers plan to screen cult classics like "The Big Lebowski" and "Pulp Fiction". The temporary theater called "Cinema Paradiso" will operate until June 21st.
VOCABULARY Old school means old-fashioned or traditional. • Teens are ditching texting for 'old school' ways of communicating.
U.S. composer Joseph Bertolozzi gives new meaning to 'heavy metal', climbing the Eiffel Tower armed with mallets and drumsticks to record sounds for a new musical composition. Elly Park reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: It's served as the backdrop for countless artworks and movies, but now the Eiffel Tower will be the main star of a musical composition. This is American composer Joseph Bertolozzi. Armed with logs and latex mallets he and his crew are recording sounds produced by different parts of the French landmark. And for the 54 year-old, the iconic tower is an instrument, just like any other. JOSEPH BERTOLOZZI: "A harpist knows, or a guitarist knows the character of each string, one string is wound with metal, another one is maybe gut string, they're thicker, they're thinner, they know how they respond. So when I look at the Tower, now more than before, I know how the thing will respond as an instrument." REPORTER: Since the end of May, Bertolozzi has recorded nearly 2000 samples from the tower that he will weave together into a musical composition entitled "Tower Music." It's not the first time he has turned a landmark structure into a musical piece. In 2009, his recording of a New York suspension bridge reached number 18 on the Billboard Chart of Classical Crossover Music. And while his work here is far from finished, Bertolozzi is already drumming up some serious support.
IDIOM If you drum up support or business, you try to get it. • The United Kingdom's trade and investment minister, Lord Stephen Green, is in Asia on a two week trip drumming up business for his flagging economy at home.
Apple will launch a music streaming service along with new operating systems for its mobile and desktop products. Bobbi Rebell reports.
TRANSCRIPT TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: "It's the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone and iTunes Radio the absolute best way to discover new music." REPORTER: Apple CEO Tim Cook summing it up at the company's developers conference. iTunes Radio had been considered to be a threat to Pandora — but reaction was lukewarm. Reticle Research's Ross Rubin ... ROSS RUBIN, PRINCIPAL ANALYST, RETICLE RESEARCH: "What we have seen with Pandora is that they have a massive audience. It's been difficult for them to monetize that audience, and so Apple may have a slightly different goal. For them, it's more about music discovery as Eddie Q mentioned. It's about driving purchases through iTunes." REPORTER: It is also a key element of a big overhaul of Apple's mobile platform — the biggest since the iPhone's debut in 2007. iOS 7 comes with a new edge to edge look that has new typefaces and icons — and supports multi-tasking. It also updates apps automatically. Apple also unveiled a new Siri with male and female voices. And a new operating system for desktops — dubbed Mavericks. Marketing Chief Phil Schiller gave a sneak peak at the new Mac Pro- Apple's top of the line computer — and took a swipe at critics. PHIL SCHILLER, SENIOR VP, WORLDWIDE MARKETING, APPLE: "Can't innovate anymore my ass." REPORTER: Forrester Research's Charles Golvin ... CHARLES GOLVIN, ANALYST, FORRESTER RESEARCH: '"Clearly this reflects the fact that they are in a more pitched battle for market share and for attention." REPORTER: Apple's stock has fallen 37 percent from its high last September — and fell on Monday. CEO Tim Cook has been under pressure to show the company can keep up with competitors like Samsung and Google. ROSS RUBIN, PRINCIPAL ANALYST, RETICLE RESEARCH: "Overall really what differentiates Apple is its ability to execute on a lot of these initiatives and it seems again that the team was gelling very well and that they are moving forward. It seemed very positive across the board." REPORTER: The real reviews will come when most of the products hit the market in the fall.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela is in hospital for a second day with a lung infection, as newspapers and the government suggest this time may be more serious. Lindsey Parietti reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: With Nelson Mandela again in the hospital, South Africa appears to be preparing for the worst. The 94-year-old former president and anti-apartheid hero was hospitalised Saturday for a recurring lung infection. A government spokesman said his condition was "serious this time" and Sunday's papers ran sombre headlines. The government's choice of words is worrying many South Africans, for whom Mandela remains a potent symbol of the struggle against decades of white-minority rule. LOCAL RESIDENT MLUGISI SEKHOSANA: "The message I have for Nelson Mandela is to have a speedy recovery, he must get well. We know what he did for us in South Africa. All the nation, black and whites, we wish him well." REPORTER: Mandela served one term as president before stepping down in 1999, and has been withdrawn from public life in recent years. He has been in the hospital three times since December.
For the 401st year, the brutal shin kicking championships returned to the Cotswold Olimpicks at Dover's Hill in England. Sharon Reich reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: Believe it or not, shin kicking is considered a sport, at least in this rural English town. For over four centuries local contestants have been competing in the shin kicking championships in Dover's Hill. In fact, it's one of the area's most popular events, but the brutality means that very few are brave enough to return for a second year. Except this time. Last year's champion 24-year-old Zak Warren decided to defend his crown, despite the pain. ZAK WARREN: "This year I'm not going to stand about like I did so much last year taking blows because I was worried about coming anyway due to my knee. I'm just literally going to go straight out this year and try wipe them straight to the floor before they get the chance to hit me, but we'll see, we'll see." REPORTER: The origins of the sport seem fairly lost in time, but one thing is sure -- this variation of wresting can be excruciating. Warren's opponent in the final was first-time contestant Jeremy Soper who left his footprint on the crowd after turning up in shorts ... That meant he had to improvise when it came to the traditional method of stuffing your pants with hay to limit the damage of the blows. By the time the final came around, Soper had found a pair of long pants. JEREMY SOPER: "Thanks goes to the guy how lent me these trousers, I couldn't have done it without him." REPORTER: In the end, Warren took the crown again - becoming a rare second year shin-kicking champion.
VOCABULARY Your shins are the front parts of your legs between your knees and your ankles.
The Obama administration defends its collection of the telephone records of millions of Americans as part of U.S. counter-terrorism efforts, re-igniting a fierce debate over privacy. Deborah Gembara reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: New questions for the White House about why it ordered a major cell provider to hand over its customers' phone records. The news continues to raise concerns over the balance of privacy and national security in a post-September 11th United States. Millions of Verizon customer records were released to government under a top secret court order. Administration officials have quietly acknowledged and defended the necessity of the program but on Capitol Hill, Attorney General Eric Holder was less forthcoming. MARK KIRK, U.S. SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS: "Could you assure to us that no phones inside the capitol were monitored ... members of Congress ... that would give a future executive branch if they started pulling this kind of thing off, would give them unique leverage over the legislature?" ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: "With all due respect Senator, I don't think this is an appropriate setting for me to discuss that issue, I'd be more than glad to come back in an appropriate setting to discuss the issues that you have raised, but in this open forum, I don't' want to do that." REPORTER: Court documents offer no details about why the order was given. What is known is that the three-month court order was issued a week after the Boston Marathon bombing and requires records for both domestic and international calls.
"Kal Draws Trade" is one of a series of six videos explaining economic concepts by Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher, the resident cartoonist for The Economist. Other videos in the series include "Taxation", "Hyperinflation", and "Dumping".
TRANSCRIPT From the time we are children, we swap things with others. We give and take for mutual benefit. This same principle of exchange and enrichment is what motivates trade between countries. Trade is widely regarded as a spur for economic growth. It encourages countries to specialize in certain areas of strength. This enables the world to produce more goods, and more kinds of goods than it otherwise could. Since World War II international trade has increased seventeen fold, helping to ignite economic growth around the globe. Despite the obvious benefits of free trade, there are many who are motivated to limit it. Tariffs, trade bans, and quota restrictions can be used as weapons to punish competing and opposing nations. This could lead to retaliation and a devastating trade war. Some critics argue that not all trade is good trade. Trading with poor developing countries, where wages are usually lower and working hours longer than in developed countries, can create an imbalance. The result can be a loss of jobs in high-wage economies. Despite these concerns free and open trade should be embraced. Embracing the alternative is child's play.
COMMENT These videos would be useful for teachers of Business Studies or Economics classes. I found the sound effects a bit over-intrusive though ...
With this year's crop of summer blockbusters bigger and more expensive than ever, the pressure is on for the big movie studios just to break even. Executives will be hoping to avoid any repeat of last year's most under-performing film John Carter which lost Disney a reported $200 million. Edward Baran reports.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: Hollywood legend Brad Pitt oiling the publicity machine with Angelina Jolie at the Berlin premiere of his new film. Despite a reported price tag of at least 200 million dollars, the critics have been less than complimentary about Paramount's World War Z. London's Evening Standard review says it's a disaster, while the British Daily Mail calls the zombie thriller 'brain dead'. But the only thing that really matters to the studios is that the summer movies take more here at the box office than they cost to make and promote. Movie budgets of 200 million dollars aren't unusual these days plus a typical global marketing spend of around 150m dollars. Factor in that the film distributors take just half of gross receipts, and you can see that breaking is be easier said than done. Kaleem Aftab is the film correspondent on Britain's Independent newspaper ... KALEEM AFTAB: "The films are usually costing 200 million dollars or upwards and the films need to make three or four times that much to break even ... so it's a huge amount that they have to make. I think World War Z will struggle to break even in the short term because it's not getting very good critical reception. Zombie movies don't make a lot of money, I think the highest grossing one is 150 million dollars so it has to smash that." REPORTER: This year's crop of other summer blockbusters are bigger and more expensive than ever. Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp is rumoured to have cost 215 million dollars to produce. Man of Steel with Henry Cavill is said to have a budget of between 175 and 225 million. And Pacific Rim with Idris Elba was made for around 180 million dollars. So just what is the perfect formula for summer blockbuster success? KALEEM AFTAB: "The ideal template is something that will be a franchise film, that will have lots of big action sequences, that will have instantly recognisable characters, so if we've seen the characters before and they're coming back again, audiences lap that up." REPORTER: Last year's biggest loser was John Carter - it lost Disney a reported 200 million dollars, making it one of the biggest flops in cinema history. It resulted in regime change within the studio with the resignation of Rich Ross, the head of Disney. With such high stakes, there could be a few nervous execs checking the box office figures as they sit by those LA pools this summer.
PRONUNCIATION Note that the Americans pronounce the last letter of the alphabet 'zee', while in Britain, they say 'zed'.
MOVIE VOCABULARY 1. A blockbuster is a film that is very popular and successful, usually because it is very exciting. 2. If a movie is a flop, it is completely unsuccessful. 3. In Hollywood parlance a franchise film is any film title that is
itself a sequel, or a title that has one or more sequels that follow
from it, e.g. Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, etc. 4. If a movie breaks even, it makes enough money to cover its production and marketing costs. 5. The box office in a cinema is the place where the tickets are sold. When people talk about the box office, they are referring to the degree of success of a film in terms of the number of people who go to watch it or the amount of money it makes.
TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: Britain celebrates the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen's reign began in 1952. She was 27 years old when her father died and the Crown passed to her, with the coronation taking place a year later at Westminster Abbey. Hers was the 38th coronation to take place at the Abbey, a tradition launched in 1066 by William the Conqueror, the first Norman King of England. Sixty years ago the weather was cold, grey and wet. But on Tuesday, it was a sunny warm day for the celebratory service. DEAN OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY, VERY REVEREND JOHN HALL: "Here today, we gather to give thanks to Almighty God, for the faithful ministry and dutiful service the Queen continues to offer God and the people of this nation." REPORTER: Among the royals in the congregation were Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and his pregnant wife, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. It is the first time the couple has publicly returned to the Abbey since they were married there two years ago. Their baby, and the third in line to the throne, is due in mid-July. The coronation anniversary sees Queen Elizabeth edging towards Queen Victoria's record as Britain's longest-serving monarch at 63 years and 7 months on the throne.
Have you been struggling to understand native English speakers? This video from OnTarget English will help you recognize differences between written English and spoken English, and start improving your listening skills.
